Raja Ampat · Indonesia · Reef · Coral garden
Turtle House Reef
Coral slope on the doorstep, averaging 12 to 16 m
Area photo: Buena Ventura · CC BY 3.0
The house reef directly in front of the Turtle Divers Raja Ampat centre, a slope of mixed soft and hard corals averaging 12 to 16 metres. The current is mostly light, so it dives calm and easy, and being on the doorstep it takes no boat and no timetable to get in the water.
Where it is and how deep
0.5650° S, 130.6691° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The reef sits right in front of the dive centre, which is the practical point of it: no boat, no crossing, and the dive starts whenever you are ready. The average depth is between 12 and 16 metres, and the reef is a slope rather than a wall, so you can work it in either direction and come back shallower over the same ground.
The corals are a mix of soft and hard along the slope, and with mostly light current the diving is calm and unhurried, which makes this a good place for a check dive, for sorting out weighting or camera settings, or for a long shallow second dive after something deeper. No visibility or temperature figures specific to the site are published, so plan on the area figures.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Raja Ampat: October to April is the drier stretch and November to April the manta season at Manta Ridge; July to mid-September can bring strong winds and rough seas.
Questions divers ask
Is Turtle House Reef a shore dive?+
Yes. It is the house reef directly in front of the Turtle Divers Raja Ampat centre, with an average depth of 12 to 16 metres and mostly light current.
Sources
- Turtle House Reef dive site — ScubaGo
More dive sites in Raja Ampat
Reef
Reef hook dive at 10-12 m in very strong current
Schooling jacks hunting silversides under the village jetty
Overhang at 28-35 m with the wall dropping past 50
Reef
Five Rocks: a repeat-request reef to around 24 m
House reef from the jetty at 2 m down to 20 m
Pinnacle
Cleaning stations on the summit, mantas on the flanks in season
Fish fill the water before your BCD is finished deflating
Wall
A drift from schooling fish on the point to macro on the slope
Similar dives elsewhere
Reef, mini wall and coral garden from 12 m down to 30 m
Reef
Daku Arch
Siargao · Philippines
A submerged rock arch to swim through, framed by hard and soft corals
Coral gardens on a gentle slope, with the best of the reef above 18 m
Shallow 12-15 m reef that links across to Pinnacle 2